CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) -- A Chula Vista woman's holiday decorations vanished from her lawn Thursday morning — but she's determined not to let "the Grinch" steal her Christmas spirit.
It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Wendy Claproth's home in East Chula Vista. Since her husband's passing ten years ago, Claproth says she did not have the spirit to spread Christmas cheer outside. But this year, she finally got the courage to give it a shot.
On her front lawn, she put up a large blowup Christmas tree snowman, hung lights along the roof, set up candy canes, wrapped her mailbox, and even created a Christmas tree with a set of lights. Her house screamed "festive."
But on Thursday morning, she noticed that her brand new Christmas tree snowman inflatable was gone.
"Yes, you get mad, but more than anything, you get disappointed," Claproth said.
It wasn't the wind, and it definitely was not an accident. Thieves had ripped the blowup right from her lawn, leaving only the stakes.
"It was kind of angled towards the corner all by itself over there, so I guess it was an easy prey," Claproth sighed.
She wrote about the incident in her neighborhood app and found that she was not the only victim. Many others chimed in, saying the Grinch stole their Christmas decorations as well.
Chula Vista Police says while there are not too many official reports of stolen decorations, these thefts, unfortunately, are common during the holiday season. But Claproth is not letting the thieves take away her holiday spirit.
"I ordered myself another one because they are not going to steal my Christmas cheer!" Claproth said. She plans to place it right where it was earlier in the week.
She even has a message for the naughty thieves.
"I hope that you really needed it," Claproth said. "And if you needed it, then I guess it's OK. If they didn't need it, they might get some coal in their stocking this year!" she laughed.
Chula Vista Police advises residents to mark their holiday decorations with their name or address and place them in view of lights or security cameras to prevent thefts.
